Glossary
Groups 48 Group, also known as 48G or ALL48 'AKB48 Group' AKB48 and its national and international sister groups: STU48, BNK48, MNL48, AKB48 Team SH, SGO48, AKB48 Team TP, CGM48. 'Sakamichi Series (坂道シリーズ)' Nogizaka46 and its sister groups Keyakizaka46 and Hinatazaka46. Also known as 46G. 'Teams' (Main article: Team) Fans 'Wota' Wotas are fans of idol groups. 'Oshimen' The word Oshimen (推しメン) comes from "oshiteru member" ("The member you support"). It's the term used to describe a fan's favorite member. Even though oshimen generally refers to only one member, many fans have more than one oshimen per group (The favorite member among the oshimen is usually referred as Kami-oshi). Sometimes fans change their oshimen (Oshihen). 'Oshi' The term Oshi (推し) applies to fans. 'DD and MD' DD is short for "Daredemo Daisuki" ("I love anyone"). It's a term used for fans that like many members in a group. MD is short for "Minna Daisuki" ("I love everyone"). It's a term used for fans that like all the members in a group. 'Hako-oshi' Hako-oshi (箱推し) refers to a fan who supports an entire group rather than a single oshimen from that group. 'Light Stick' Light Sticks (サイリウム Psyllium), also called Penlights are used by wota at concerts. They are short plastic rods that glow in the dark. Fans wave them during performances, sometimes in unison, in order to show support for the members. Usually, a Team or Group's official color is also their light stick color. For example, supporters of Team A wave pink light sticks, since Team A's official color is pink. Some members of other 48 groups also have established light stick color combinations. Members 'Captain/Leader' (Main article: Captain) Captain or Leader describes a member that is the authority (and many times the representative) of a certain team or group 'Kenkyuusei/Research Students/Trainee/Academy' Kenkyuusei it's also known as Research Students (研究生) or Trainee or Academy. When girls enter the group, they work as a kenkyuusei until they are promoted to a team. Kenkyuusei receive many of the same perks as promoted members do, but their appearances are usually limited. They usually only perform during the kenkyuusei-only theater shows and as understudies for promoted members when need be. The term may refer to: * AKB48 Kenkyuusei * STU48 Kenkyuusei * BNK48 Trainee * MNL48 Trainee * Team SH Trainee * SGO48 Trainee * Team TP Trainee * CGM48 Trainee * Nogizaka46 Kenkyuusei 'Center' (Main article: Center) Center (センター） describes a member that is on the center position in the formation of the members 'Kami 7/Top 7' Kami 7 (God 7) describes the 7 most popular members among ALL48 groups 'Concurrent Position/Kennin' (Main article: Concurrent Positions) A concurrent position (兼任, Kennin) is a position where a member of a group hold two member positions in two different groups and two different teams 'Transferred Members' (Main article: Transferred Members) Transference of members can occur when a member of a group is transferred to another sister group, ceasing to hold a position in their original group and team 'Graduation' (Main article: Graduation) Graduation (卒業, Sotsugyou) refers to when a member that leaves their respective group. 'Seiyuu' Seiyuu (声優, Seiyuu) is the Japanese word for 'voice actor/actress.' This is a very common aspiration among idols, especially as a seiyuu for anime. In contrast to this is haiyuu (俳優, haiyuu), the Japanese word for 'actor/actress.' 'Stages' (Main article: Stage) 'Support Member' (Main article: Support Member) A Support Member is a full member of a group who perform in Kenkyuusei Stages, to fill in empty spots and to support the Kenkyuusei. Support Members also sometimes perform in sister groups whose teams are not yet complete. Events 'Akushukai' An Akushukai (握手会 - Handshake Event), are events held for every AKB48 group single release, where fans get to meet the members and shake hands with them. The event started in December 16, 2005. There are two types of Akushukai, Zenkoku and Kobetsu 'Zenkoku' Zenkoku Akushukai are when a group of around 20 AKB48 group members participate in a handshake event in a large city somewhere in Japan. You shake hands with all of the members in that certain row you choose, instead of an individual member. There is also a mini-live event at these events. The tickets to the Zenkoku Akushukai come with the Limited-Edition copies of singles. 'Kobetsu' Kobetsu Akushukai (also known as Dai-Akushukai), are events in which all members of AKB48 and it's sister groups are present. In this setting, fans get approximately 10 seconds per ticket to spend with a specific member. Fans are allowed to combine tickets to spend multiple minutes talking to the girl. The tickets to the Kobetsu Akushukai come with the Theater-Edition copies of singles. However, you have to apply online and pre-order these copies via Chara-Ani when the handshake applications open. This is usually about 1 month before the release date. 'Shamekai' Shamekai (Also known as 2-Shot events) have the participation of all members of AKB48 and it's sister groups. On this events, fans are able to take a picture with their favorite members. Tickets are included on albums, that are usually more expensive than singles. For security reasons, fans are not able to touch the member and, after the Iwate Incident a table was added between the two persons. 'Janken Tournament' (Main article: Janken Tournament) 'Draft Kaigi' (Main article: Draft Kaigi) 'Team Shuffle' Team Shuffles occur when teams exchange several of its members. Currently five major Team Shuffles occurred: * 2009 Team Shuffle * Tokyo Dome Team Shuffle * AKB48 Group Daisokaku Matsuri * AKB48 Spring Shuffle 2015 * AKB48 12th Anniversary Shuffle